


oh, if the sky comes falling down, for you (there's nothing in this world i wouldn't do)

by butmomilovemyboys



Series: i’m continuing the outsiders in my head and none of you can stop me! [1]
Category: The Outsiders - All Media Types, The Outsiders - S. E. Hinton
Genre: Brotherly Love, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Infection, Injured Ponyboy Curtis, Vomiting, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-27
Updated: 2019-06-27
Packaged: 2020-05-20 14:38:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,491
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19378735
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/butmomilovemyboys/pseuds/butmomilovemyboys
Summary: He should be sleeping too, because it’s a little past four o’clock am, and he’s got work in a few hours. But call it a premonition; he felt something horrible was about to happen.He felt it the night Pony and Johnny fell asleep in the lot. And the day of the rumble. And those were the days everything spiraled out of control and he ended up losing two of his best friends, and he almost lost his little brother. He wasn’t risking it now.~Darry gets a feeling something bad is gonna happen, and Ponyboy is so goddamn stupid.





	oh, if the sky comes falling down, for you (there's nothing in this world i wouldn't do)

**Author's Note:**

> brain: i need more outsiders content :/  
> monkey brain: write it yourself 
> 
> so yeah after YEARS of reading this book, i present my fanfiction?? YES I love irondad and dadchesters but brotherly love is soo fucking good. I used to write stuff about dick grayson and damien wayne. On wattpad. I should know. Also I’m no fucking doctor do take the medical stuff with a grain of salt.  
> Enjoy!!

Darry watched his two brothers sleep peacefully in their bed. Both had gotten used to sharing a bed, but it was still funny to see the two of them sprawled out on top of each other, limbs in the other’s face, mixed with their soft snoring. The soft light illuminating from the lamp Darry put on bounced of their faces, but not harsh enough to wake them. Sweat glistened off of Ponyboy, but his face was as smooth and young as ever. He looked a little flushed, but he chalked it up to Soda being almost on top of him. Sodapop was out cold with his face in a pillow. Somehow, even with the two of them tangled together, they looked comfortable. He felt a surge of jealousy, feeling left out, like he wasn’t wanted in their little bubble. Deep-down he knew it wasn’t true, and he knows that they loved him just as much, but on the outside, it stings. 

He remembers a distant time when they were separated, when Ponyboy was a lot more innocent and Soda was much more wild. When their parents were still around, when if Pony had a nightmare, he went to his Mom and Dad and not him. Or when Soda could ask for something he wanted and not feel guilty for asking. It all seemed so long ago, like he had been parenting his brothers for his whole life rather than a little under a year. 

He should be sleeping too, because it’s a little past four o’clock am, and he’s got work in a few hours. But call it a premonition; he felt something horrible was about to happen.

He felt it the night Pony and Johnny fell asleep in the lot. And the day of the rumble. And those were the days everything spiraled out of control and he ended up losing two of his best friends, and he almost lost his little brother. He wasn’t risking it now. As soon as he felt his stomach knot and his blood run a bit cooler, he was up and planting himself quietly outside his brothers’ door. He felt the dread leave him as he clearly heard each soft breath both were making, even if they were both still in there pile, with the pillows and blankets left on the floor. That happened most nights. Both moved around too much while falling asleep and then ended up staying one way for hours, then he would watch Soda pull himself out of Pony’s grip and get ready for work in the morning. Ponyboy would sleep a full thirty-six hours if he could.  But once he’s up he’s restless, curious about anything and everything. 

About twenty minutes into his brother-watch, Darry started cleaning around the living room, because, shoot, if he wasn’t gonna sleep, he might as well be productive. He tried his best to be quiet, but he guessed he did a pretty crappy job, because suddenly Sodapop was standing messy-haired in his doorway. 

“Darry?” Soda asked drowsily. “What’re you doin’ up?” 

Darry carefully placed another couch cushion on the frame. “Trying to clean. Guess I wasn’t quiet enough.”

Soda made a face. “At 4:30 in the morning?” He rubbed his eyes and ran his hands down his face. “What’s wrong?” 

Darry sighed, plopping quietly on the couch. “Just had a bad feeling, is all. Wanted to make sure y’all were okay.” 

Soda stretched a bit, cracking his neck and knuckles. 

“Pony was complaining ‘bout a migraine before bed,” Soda hummed. “Told him to take some aspirin and sleep it off.” 

“Maybe that’s what it was. When I looked at y’all, he seemed a little flushed,” Darry responded, standing up and moving towards Soda. “Go on back to bed, Pepsi-Cola, you’ve got work in the morning.” 

Sodapop gave him a tiny smile. “Nah, now that I’m awake, I reckon I better stay awake. Let the little one have all the bed space for once.” 

“Alright, but I’ll skin ya if you’re falling asleep at the gas station,” he teased. “Want some cake?” 

Soda nodded. “Why the hell not?” 

The two of them sit across from one another, munching on chocolate cake in a comfortable silence, Ponyboy’s soft breathing in the background. 

_ Poor kid,  _ Darry thought,  _ Seen too much for a fourteen year old. _

“Wanna turn the radio on?” Darry offered, wanting to make a distraction.

“Sure as hell won’t wake Pony. He was out when I woke up.” Sodapop replied, shrugging. He walked over to their little radio and fiddle with it until it worked, where a quiet, drowsy Ricky Nelson song played. 

_ Goin' down to lonesome town, Where the broken hearts stay… _

Ponyboy’s breathing got drowned out from the music, and while it worried Darry for a second, he let it go as he took another bite of cake. 

“You ever worry ‘bout him?” Darry asked softly. 

Sodapop barked out a forced laugh, mouth full. “When  _ don’t  _ I?” 

Darry rolled his eyes. “I mean about the whole--”

“I know what you mean.” He interrupted, suddenly sollum. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “And yeah, I do.” 

“Me too,” Darry agreed. “He’s better than he was, but...I don’t know, he just ain’t the same.” 

“Yeah. But, I mean, it’s only been, what? Three months?” Soda inquired.

Darry nodded. “He just still seems so spacey all the time. Like he don’t know what’s going on sometimes.” 

“He gets nightmares a lot,” Soda relaid. “He didn’t want me saying nothing but..” 

“It’s okay.” Darry replied, accidently keeping the bitterness in his tone. 

Soda gave him a sympathetic look. “He just doesn’t wanna worry you.” When Darry raised an eyebrow, Soda added:  _ “More  _ than he already does.” 

“Yeah, I know. I don’t mean anything by it. Just wish he would trust me a little.” 

“He  _ does  _ trust you,” Soda pleaded. “He loves ya, stupid. Y’all are just different. Too big an age gap.” 

Sometimes, Darry doesn’t understand how Soda flunked out of school. His grades were never good, but he was street smart enough to make Darry second guess Soda dropping out. Soda understood how the world worked, something Ponyboy was still trying to figure out. 

“You sure he was okay before he went to bed?” Darry changed the subject. 

Soda registered the change and nodded. “I mean, he looked a little pale all day.”

“And I don’t think he ate much at dinner,” Darry remembered. 

“Right. And I guess we’ve seen him worse before,” Sodapop said. They both sat in their collective memory for a moment. That week was bad.  _ Bad  _ bad. Johnny, Dally, and then the threat of Pony was all too much. He remembers the way his little brother cried out for them all, desperate and crazed. The way he wouldn’t eat anything. How he cried and yelled and asked questions that had strange answers. 

God, he was exhausted just thinking about it. 

By the looks of Soda, he felt the same. 

“The sun’s about to rise. Luckily it’s a Saturday so’s he can sleep in.” Darry stood up and stretched, then bent down and picked up their plates. 

“Yeah,” Soda yawned. “Maybe I’ll take a quick nap before I have to get up. Wake me if I’m late?” 

“Sure thing, little buddy.”  Darry promised, ruffling Soda’s hair. 

And for a moment, as Soda jumped on the couch, his face buried in a pillow, things were perfectly okay. 

Then a crash came from the bedroom and shook the whole house.

The perfect facade crumbled and the knot in Darry’s stomach returned as he nearly shattered the plates in hand. Soda was up on his feet in seconds, less than seconds, and both boys were flying into the room. Sodapop flicked the lights on, and they saw; Ponyboy sprawled out on the floor, thrashing like a madman, his shirt sticking to him with sweat. 

“Pony!” Soda yelped, falling to the ground beside him. Darry followed in silent fear, scared hands hovering over Ponyboy as Soda pulled the youngest Curtis into his arms, holding him down from the thrashing. “Come on, kiddo, wake up!” 

_ “No!”  _ Pony cried, sobbing deliriously. 

Darry finally got some sense knocked into him. He put his hand to Ponyboy’s forehead, wincing at the overwhelming heat radiating off of him. 

“Glory, he’s burning up,” Darry gritted out between teeth. His hair stuck to his hot forehead, as his eyes bunched up together in pain. He stopped thrashing so violently, instead he simply shook like a leaf in Soda’s arms, muttering and whimpering into Soda’s t-shirt. 

Soda looked terrified. Like any second, Ponyboy would just turn to dust right there as he held him. 

“Christ, Darry, what do we do?!” Soda cried, looking up to his older brother, at a loss. 

“Give him to me, alright? He’s just real sick. Nothing he can’t get over,” Darry assured the middle one, offering him a tight smile. Soda didn’t return it, but he nodded, and untangled Ponyboy from his arms. He moaned as he got transferred between brothers, and something caught the eldest brother’s eye as Pony’s shirt shifted. 

A bright red bandage, surrounded by a circle of yellow and purples. Soda saw it too, and immediately, breath leaves both of them. Like they’re in slow motion, Darry slowly reaches for the wound, trying to gasp at the red that stains his fingers as he pulls back the wet bandage. He swore Soda choked on a sob as the contents were shown--rusty blood, yellow liquid, red skin. He tried not to vomit. 

“Oh God,” Soda cried. “S-Stabbed?” 

“No,” Darry replied, breathlessly. “Just a deep cut.” 

_ Stupid kid. Stupid fucking kid.  _

But his anger was clouded with more concern and worry than anything. He knew what had happened without Pony saying. He got jumped, got sliced, tried to treat it himself as not to worry the rest of them, and did a real bad job doing it. 

“Feel—feel sick.” Ponyboy whined, and Soda’s brotherly instincts musta kicked in, because he grabbed their empty laundry basket and managed to sit Pony up just in time for him to retch into it. He did a little more sobbing before wincing and falling back limp against Darry. 

“This is bad,” Darry whispered, not meaning to say it aloud. 

Soda nodded, letting out a distressed sound. “L-Let’s move him.” 

Darry scooped him up, trying not to focus on how stick-skinny Ponyboy was-- his dead-weight was too light. He saw Soda blindly follow in a fearful daze, jumping ahead to move pillows from the couch before Darry set him down. Only then did Pony stir. 

“M’sorry…” he mumbled. “S’ry I hid it…” 

“Shh, it’s okay kiddo, just never do it again,” Darry asked of him. He could have time to lecture him when he wasn’t so worried about him dying of infection. The sun was rising now, the clocked read about five-fifteen am. “Soda, try an’ get the day off. Tell ‘em we’ve got an emergency. Call in for me too. And  _ get _ the other boys here!”

Soda blindly followed the order, his eyes still wide in terror. Darry could hear him shakingly tell his boss that him and Steve weren’t gonna show up, and his boss on the other end mustn’t have put up much of a fight, because suddenly Soda was explaining to  _ Darry’s _ boss that there was a family emergency and he’d be in if he could get there. He watched as Soda blindly dial another number, and with shaky hands, bring the phone to his ear. 

“Mrs.Mathews? Is Two-Bit there?” There was an answer that he couldn’t hear. “Yeah, I’m-I’m sorry it’s early but— yeah, could ya send him over? It’s Ponyboy— no, please go to work. Two-Bit’s enough. We’ll call if we need to.” 

Darry liked Two-Bit’s mother. She was kind and had Two-Bit’s humor, but she was a mother first. She would come in handy if Pony needed her. 

Darry turned his attention back to Ponyboy. “Come on, we gotta get your shirt off.” When his brother didn’t answer back, and his face went slack again, Darry shook him a bit harder with anxiety “Hey, wake up, Pony. Quit playin’.” And after a long, silent minute, he stirred. 

“Ow.” Was all he said. 

Darry huffed out a relieved sigh, and saw Soda do the same out of the corner of his eye. “No sleeping yet kiddo. You hear me?” 

“Mm’kay. I’m s’ry.” 

Soda made his next call. “Steve, we need ya. It’s Ponyboy.” Darry wasn’t even sure there was a response before Steve hung up. That’s how it always was with Steve, even when they were all so much younger. Steve acted like he never wanted Ponyboy around at all, but it was always him just trying to be mean and tough. In reality, both he and Soda knew Steve cared deeply for their little brother. He could even remember one time, about ten or eleven years ago, when Pony had just turned four, a then-more-aggressive and young Johnny tackled Ponyboy a bit too hard during a game of football, which left the toddler crying and sniffling for two hours. Johnny apologized honestly to their parents before heading home— but Steve stayed. Wanted to make sure Pony wasn’t hurt or nothing. 

_ “You sure he’s okay?” He had asked, standing awkwardly by Sodapop.  _

_ “He’s just a little shook up, is all,” their mother replied, with a half awake Pony in her arms. “But it’s real sweet of you to check up on him.”  _

Sometimes, though, he wished Steve would just show it to Pony. Poor kid probably thinks he hates him. 

Darry eventually managed to get Pony’s shirt off, with Soda quietly wiping the sweat away from his forehead with a washcloth. Steve came bumbling, Two-Bit hot on his heels. Both look dead-tired, like the call woke them up, but each become alert when they see Ponyboy. There’s no spunk to Two-Bit, just plain old worry and protectiveness that they all had. 

“Shit man,” Two-Bit breathed. “What happened?” 

“Did he get  _ stabbed _ ?” Steve exclaimed. 

“No,” Darry explained, regarding Soda’s sharp inhale. “No, just cut.” 

Steve crossed his arms, as if to steady his nerves. “What-What are we gonna do?” 

“I don’t know,” Darry admitted. “I think we just gotta take him to the hospital.”

_ Hospital.  _ They all shuddered. They all knew what happened there, all of them spent too much time there. For a moment, it’s all stiff and silent, except for the murmurs and tears from Ponyboy. 

“We oughta get him out of here,” Soda said, almost monotone. It’s the first thing he’s said for awhile. It kind of acted like a trigger for them all, everyone moving at once. Two-Bit rushed out the front door towards the car, starting it as Steve opened the back door. Soda grabbed a couple things Pony would eventually want; a book and a part of the chocolate cake. Darry scooped his youngest brother back into his arms, muttering an apology as Pony winched. They piled in the small car, with Two-Bit driving. Pony’s head lay comfortably in the crook of Darry’s neck, his legs across Soda. Soda was white as a ghost, and that was putting it nicely. He looked seconds from cracking, seconds from sobbing. 

Darry took a free hand and squeezed his shoulder. “He’ll be okay, Soda. He’s too goddamn stubborn to die.” 

Soda just nodded, letting out a strict breath. 

Once they arrived at the hospital, they don’t make a fuss. Darry hated making a fuss at the hospital. What was he gonna do, run in there, yelling for help? He ain’t no different from anyone else in there. Besides, he found they were a lot more helpful if you were just as calm. So the four of them swallowed their fear and calmly made their way in. Darry and Soda each took an arm under Ponyboy, while Pony barely dragged his legs along the way. Two-Bit and Steve followed behind. 

A nurse saw them as soon as they entered. Darry guess Pony looked worse than they thought, because even she looked alarmed. 

“How long has he been like this?” She asked after calling for a stretcher. There was alarm in her eyes. 

“I ain’t so sure,” Darry admitted, embarrassed. Him and Soda set him down on the stretcher, both a bit reluctantly. “He was hiding it from us.”

“He was real pale all yesterday,” Soda offered. “That’s the first I’ve noticed.” 

The nurse nodded and jotted things down on a clipboard. “What happened before you come here?” 

“We was up and about, he was sleepin’,” Soda started. “Everything was fine and then he fell outta bed.” 

“He musta had a fever dream or something,” Darry finished. “He was flailing and screaming and burning up. Then we saw that.” He pointed to the cut. 

The nurse nodded. “I see.” She spotted the doctor coming down the hallway. “Alright, the doctor will take him away now. You boys just sit tight.” 

Darry nodded, squeezing Soda’s shoulder. He started leading him towards the chairs at the end of the hallway. 

A limp arm grabbed his own. 

“Don’t wanna go,” Ponyboy half-sobbed. The man pulling the stretcher stopped, but gave Darry a small look of  _ hurry up _ . 

Darry pushed back his damp hair. “You’ve gotta, buddy.” 

Pony’s eyes flared with pain. “Don’t like hospitals.” 

“I know. I know ya don’t. But Soda and me are right here, alright? We ain’t going nowhere.” 

Ponyboy dropped his arm back in defeat, looking exhausted. Darry nodded towards the male nurse, letting him wheel his little brother away. 

The world suddenly felt in slow motion again. 

The four of them sat waiting, Soda still for the first time in his life. Steve sat on the other side of him, putting a hand on his shoulder every now and then and muttering a reassurance. Two-Bit took out a knife and started hacked away and his shoe, and then the chair, and then the wall, for what must have been hours, until  _ finally  _ the doctor came out and found them. 

“He did a pretty lousy job trying to dress that wound himself,” the man started. 

“Is he alright?” Darry asked. 

The doctor’s face didn’t give any information. “He’s doing fine now, but you boys brought him here just on time. It’s not reached sepsis levels yet. But it probably would have if you waited any longer.” 

Darry barely knew was sepsis was, but either way he was relieved. “Could we see him?”

“I suppose you can,” he said. “He’s most likely about to sleep, though. The fever lessened but he still lost a lot of blood. But he should be up and about within the next two days.” 

Darry nodded. He looked over at Soda, who seemed to regain some color to him. Two-Bit’s shine come back to him, and Steve seemed to soften. 

“Hey, Darry?” Soda almost whispered. 

“Yeah?” 

“You ain’t gonna beat him up for this too much, are ya?” Soda looked like he was pleading. 

Part of him wanted to. Part of him wanted to lay into his stupid kid brother for hiding such a  _ bad thing.  _

But the other part knew better. And for Soda and Pony’s sake, he’d stay shut. 

“Nah, kid, I don’t think I have it in me. We just gotta get it through his thick skull that he can’t hide these things from us.” 

Soda seemed content with that answer, and smiled for the first time. 

By the time they reached the room, Pony was out like a light. He was curled up on his right side, his right arm underneath his head. 

Darry remembered faintly a time when Ponyboy mentioned how people looked younger when they slept. That could be said for himself too. If Darry didn’t know better, he would think Pony was ten instead of fourteen. 

Eventually Two-Bit and Steve left. He didn’t really notice until Soda mentioned how Steve would cover for him over at the DX. 

But the two brothers stayed, both watching their younger brother’s chest move up and down, slowly but surely. 

“I swear it,” Darry said to Soda. “That kid gives me more grey hairs everyday day. Who'd thought my own kid brother would age me?”

Soda laughed and shook his head. “Shoot, what’s gonna happen when he lives in his own?” 

That's when the youngest Curtis wakes back up. “If y’all don’t shut up and lemme sleep, I’ll kick your ass.” 

Relief flooded Darry, seeing as Pony still had some fight left in him. 

“Sorry, but who’s the one who lied to their brother’s about a very critical injury?” Darry crossed his arms. 

Pony didn’t even open his eyes. “Didn’t lie, just didn’t say nothing.” 

Darry could have laid into him right then and there. And boy, did he want to. 

But, for a moment, he let himself be calm with the fact that everything would be just fine. 


End file.
